It is known to coat or line the inside surface of an exhaust manifold for an internal combustion engine with a ceramic material to insulate the manifold and reduce the amount of heat emitted into a vehicle's engine compartment, and to promote early "light-off" of the vehicle's catalytic converter for more effective treatment of the exhaust gases. Cast-in-place ceramic liners provide good insulation, but are expensive and highly susceptible to cracking due to thermal expansion mismatch with the iron. Many prior art coatings are similarly expensive and crack prone.